Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of JDS Uniphase Corp. (VIAV -0.25%) fell 15% early Thursday after the high-performance network specialist turned in weaker-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results.
So what: Adjusted quarterly revenue rose 3.1% year over year to $418 million, which translated to adjusted net income of $23.4 million, or $0.10 per share. Analysts, on average, were looking for adjusted earnings of $0.11 per share on sales of $431.73 million.
Now what: To their credit, JDS Uniphase CEO Tom Waechter did point out they stayed within their operating margin guidance range for the quarter, adding, "Our fiscal third quarter revenue was affected by later-than-expected carrier orders, but we are encouraged by a strong bookings performance and believe positive industry trends will drive improved top-line growth in our fiscal fourth quarter."
Even so, JDS Uniphase expects adjusted fourth-quarter revenue to be in the range of $425 million to $445 million, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.10 to $0.14. By contrast, analysts were modeling fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $0.17 per share on sales of $459 million.
As a result, I can't blame the market for bidding down shares of JDS Uniphase today. Shares might look cheap right now trading around 13 times next year's expected earnings, but keep in mind those estimates are likely to fall as analysts have time to fully digest today's news. As a result, I think investors would be wise to let the dust settle for at least a few weeks before considering taking advantage of this plunge.
